Springing back to life

 PLAYING CATCHUP  

The battle being fought between the end of winter and the beginning of spring is a real pain. We had more snow than we really wanted, but every so often, in between showers, the sun comes out and plants are leaping into growth. We have to ignore the constant dull rainy days as plants are seasonal so sowing, planting and hardening off are dictated mainly by the calendar not the temperature.

Vegetables, fruit and flowers all need attention. I try to start off many plants in the home, then onto a sunny windowsill at germination. Before too long plants need hardening off before they go out to the cold greenhouse. Unfortunately this is always full so some of the more hardier plants such as geraniums need shifting outdoors as soon as the threat of frost diminishes.

Up on the allotment the digging continues whenever the surface is dry enough. That has been a big obstacle this winter, but there is a lot of excellent compost to get dug in so if the sun is shining, I will most likely be digging.

The front of my allotment has a permanent flower border of roses, Iris, wallflower, tulips and Iceland poppies. Digging is not feasible here, but to keep it fertile I like to add a mulch of fine compost and lightly fork this into the surface. Dundee Council’s Discovery compost is perfect for this task, but unfortunately is no longer available at weekends.  Do they not realise that the modern gardener of today is not just the pensioner, but also the professional and working man of all ages, the young mother with kids and the student who wants to live cheaply but healthily. They are all working or studying through the week, so weekends are when the gardeners come alive.

The tip is staffed at weekends, so why is the compost kept behind a locked gate out of reach.

Glorious spring flowers

 This spring the crocus put on an excellent show, but now it is the turn of the Chionodoxa, the Glory of the Snow. I have a large drift of these planted in between my flag Iris. This gives an early spring display well before the Iris flowers alongside other herbaceous plants including Oriental Poppies and Pyrethrums. Another deep blue flower catching the sunlight is the ground cover plant Pulmonaria which is planted around a clump of golden Doronicum, an early flowering herbaceous plant. I frequently get them flowering together, but they both respond to weather differently, so the idea is not foolproof.

Rhododendron praecox is usually the first Rhodo to flower, but very often it gets caught with a late frost which wipes out the delicate blooms. Not this year as the season is late so it has been fantastic.

The winter border

The display of crocus drifting thickly over my coloured stemmed border will be over by the end of the month. However the coloured stems of cornus and salix may still be very attractive especially when the young emerging golden spring buds appear, but this is when I have to be brutal. The loppers come out and these get chopped back to ground level. They always quickly recover with fresh new shoots that will brighten up this border next winter.

I do not prune the green stemmed Kerria at this time as it flowers in early summer, but will get some thinning out after it finishes flowering. Also my wine red Japanese maple Acer Sangokaku does not get pruned.

The removal of the old stems clears the way for the next show of bulbs from my tulips, planted underneath the crocus. Flowers respond very well to interplanting to get the maximum display from all garden areas.

The fruit garden

I am keeping a watch over my peach tree, as it flowers very early, usually before there are any pollinating insects around. The pink flowers have to be hand pollinated with an artists sable brush every day. As an artist, I always have plenty sable brushes.

This year the seasons are running late and as yet my peach is not flowering, so hopefully they will not get frosted. Last year the season was also late and I could have had a huge crop, but a very late frost killed off many young fruitlets leaving me with a favoured dozen that ripened brilliantly.

My peach is growing against a south facing fence so catches a fair bit of sunshine.

Saskatoons and Chokeberry seeds were sown last autumn in cellular trays and stratified outdoors over winter. They are now all germinated, though they did suffer a bit when a few mice decided to make a meal of the swollen seeds. That was their last meal.

We are still enjoying Bramley apples stored in the garage, and the freezer is still packed with strawberries, rasps, blackcurrants, saskatoons, chokeberries and brambles.

Indoor gardening

Broad beans sown in cellular strips have now germinated and grown into nice sturdy wee plants on the windowsill. These will now be moved to the greenhouse to make room for my onions. They were also grown in smaller cellular pots with about four or five seeds per unit. I am getting a good germination, so in another week or so I will thin them down to two or three seedlings per cell. Onions are happy to be clump planted, but need really good soil as they are gross feeders and respond to heavy applications of well rotted manure or compost at digging time.

Amaryllis is now in full bloom giving a magnificent display for the living room.

Christmas cactus, also known as the Easter cactus, is back in flower again. It always produces its best show in early December, then I dry it off and store it in a light cool location. This ripens it up and every so often if you are lucky it will come back into flower just before Easter. After two sessions of flowering it will need a long rest so it goes back to its light cool spot for a couple of months and kept almost bone dry. Just give a wee bit of water to keep it alive, but not enough to restart growth too soon. It will let you know when it is ready to grow by pushing out some growth buds in early summer. At that point start to give it regular watering and a wee feed to encourage new growth. Put it in a sunnier location, even outdoors on a patio. At the end of summer dry it off again and keep it dry to ripen up the new growth which will then form flower buds for blooming in December.

Plug plants are now available in garden centres getting ready for the summer bedding season. These are not yet hardy, so need a warm sunny location to continue growing.

Do not buy any that have been allowed to go dry.

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Planting Spring Bulbs

PLANT SPRING BULBS NOW

It is always very uplifting to see the emergence of the first spring flowers after a long dark cold winter. They are the sign that winter is ending and warmer weather is on its way.

Traditionally March was the turning point when shoots started to appear, then up popped the first snowdrops and winter aconites. Global warming has changed all that, but climate change is not occurring gradually. It is a bit like the stock market, over time it improves but has wild swings along the journey. Several years ago I was enjoying a coffee break outdoors in glorious warm sunshine at the end of February. Last April my early tulips were broken down with the weight of snow on them. I used to think Narcissus February Gold was a joke as it flowered in April, but now it almost does flower at the end of February. See the drifts of them along the Lochee Road next February or maybe March.

This is the time of year to be planning, buying and planting bulbs for that early flower display. The garden Centres, nurseries and stores are full of bulbs for every situation around the garden.

Bulb planting ideas

Bulbs start to flower in February with the snowdrops and continue till mid summer with the lilies. They will give a more impressive display if they are planted in bold drifts. They can also be mixed together with several types of bulbs to extend the season of display. Snowdrops can be mixed with crocus and tulips which are planted deeper and also summer lilies which flower much later, but all grow happy together.

However consider the location for each type. Snowdrops, aconites, bluebells, chionodoxa and grape hyacinths are all happy in partial or dappled shade, whereas crocus need sunshine to open up the flowers. Many bulbs thrive under deciduous trees as they do their growing early before the trees develop a dense canopy. Often this canopy will dry out the soil surface in summer which may suit the bulb during its dormant stage.

I find numerous places to grow bulbs in association with other plants such as in the herbaceous border, coloured stemmed or winter border, woodland border amongst the Himalayan blue poppies, and of course in the spring bedding displays in borders and tubs.

Bulbs, such as hyacinths and narcissus can also be grown in pots for the house, then later after flowering dried off and planted out in the garden.

Early flowering bulbs such as narcissus and crocus can be planted in lawns, but remember to let the leaves grow to feed the bulbs for the following years flowers. Always allow a minimum of six weeks from flowering before mowing off the leaves, though many people will advise to leave them till they begin to turn yellow. In some wet years that can take a long time especially with the large headed daffodils.

Another great plant association is a drift of Anemone blanda with Cyclamen hederifolium as they both have totally different flowering and growing seasons. Anemone blanda flowers in spring, then grows quickly till mid summer before dying down. The cyclamen flowers emerge in late August to September and continue to grow till winter before dying down.

To capture and enjoy the beauty of those first flowers in late winter plant some snowdrops, aconites and crocus species in view of the main house windows. Then even after a snowfall you can still see them emerging unscathed from the comfort of a warm house. I have a drift of these next to a beautiful pure white Christmas rose, Helleborus niger which flowers at the same time and viewed from the patio window.

Bulbs for the house

Hyacinths are hard to beat for a flowering scented house plant and come in many colours. My favourite was always the red Jan Bos, but there are excellent blues, pinks and whites. For the earliest flowers choose bulbs that have been prepared for forcing and try to get them potted up at the end of August or early September.

Bulbs can be planted close together, even one above the other in bulb fibre compost in wide pots. Water them in then put them outdoors against a north wall. They prefer to be kept dark at this stage for about ten or so weeks and protect them from frost and mice.. This encourages root growth but holds back leaves and flowers. They should not need much watering. Keep checking them for signs of shoot growth and as soon as they begin to grow, probably in late November to December, introduce them to a light but not sunny place such as a cold frame or cool greenhouse. Keep them cold but frost free, until the flowers begin to show. Gradually warm them up but leave it to the last minute before you take them into the warmth of a house otherwise they will grow too tall.

Early narcissus and dwarf tulips e.g. Red Riding Hood, can also be grown in pots for early flowering. I like the scented Cheerfulness types which have double flowers and a heady perfume. Grow them the same way as hyacinths.

Bulbs for the garden

My season starts in early February with a clump of snowdrops planted under my grape vine on a south facing wall which gets a lot of heat from the sun. Then other snowdrops, aconites and crocus species all come together. Crocus should come after the snowdrops, but not any more. Anemone blanda is drifted under our apple trees and follows the crocus before the bluebells smother the ground under our Bramley apple and Victoria plum, all happy to grow together. In the front of our fruit tree mini orchard, (five trees) there are drifts of lilies which grow up into the sun.

The herbaceous border is covered in hyacinths previously grown in pots but now naturalised plus Chionodoxa, the Glory of the Snows. One display after another.

Where ever there is a space amongst shrubs I have planted sacks of daffodils, narcissus, tulips and grape hyacinths which are all left to grow and spread as they wish. I keep adding to them every year. Types of fosteriana tulips have large flowers, are very early and naturalise well.

Tubs and Beds

My Parks Dept training as a gardener was very thorough so I always follow our tradition of planting both summer and winter bedding plants in borders, tubs and hanging baskets.

At this time of year the normal selection will be Wallflowers, Myosotis, Polyanthus and winter flowering pansies.

I choose the tall Darwin Hybrid tulips for interplanting amongst the wallflower, but dwarf early tulips or species to go between the others.

Tubs and pots are also planted with dwarf tulips amongst the pansies and myosotis and often a few crocus are added to give an early display.

I do not use bulbs in my winter hanging baskets as these are usually filled with winter pansies which can suffer from too much foliage from the crocus which just loves to grow when you water and feed them.

All of these bulbs get dried out after flowering to be reused elsewhere in the garden the following year.

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Flaming June did happen this year

FLAMING JUNE DID HAPPEN THIS YEAR

The summer returned this year after three years of cool and wet weather following a very long and cold winter. That is the kind of normal weather I remember from childhood to youth, before global warming appeared and weather pattern became guesswork.

The garden plants have responded with strong healthy growth, a lot less pest and diseases, flowers in profusion and fruit crops to come, full of potential.

Some outdoor fuchsias never made it through the winter, hebes were lost as well as my Leptospermum Red Damask, however Fuchsia Mrs. Popple has sprouted from the base and will have its first flowers by the time you read this, despite the attention of the greenfly and frog hoppers, (cuckoo spit).

Always give apparently dead plants plenty of time after a hard winter to recover before you dig them out. Some years ago I had a 15 foot tall Cordyline australis the Torbay palm, that died after a very hard frost. It was cut back to ground level, but then 18 months later five new shoots appeared and it sprang back into life. A lesson was learnt. Eucalyptus can also be a bit tender when young though my twelve year old specimen has never looked better.

Robinia frisia, the false acacia, an excellent small tree with golden leaves suitable for domestic gardens lost a few branches but soon recovered. It needs good drainage at its feet to survive the winter, otherwise die back of shoots get infected with the coral spot fungus which can then spread to healthy wood.

This year it was the turn of my date palm, Phoenix canariensis, to die back to ground level after successfully growing outdoors in a sunny border for six years as a specimen dot plant in the middle of a flower bed. It got chopped back to ground level but I see it is trying to make a recovery.

The Flower Garden

Glorious colour abounds in herbaceous borders, rose beds, climbing roses, flowering shrubs and in tubs, hanging baskets and borders with summer bedding plants.

Dead heading to remove seed heads is a constant task with Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Himalayan blue poppies, Iceland poppies, and winter pansies who wont stop flowering. I have never known them to continue for so long so I keep feeding and watering them.

Seeds gathered from the Meconopsis, Himalayan blue poppy, and the Iceland Poppies will be sown this month. I hope the Iceland poppies will germinate fairly soon as they are to grow on for flowering next spring, but the Meconopsis will probably not germinate till next spring. Keep both of them moist, shaded and cool to assist good germination.

My bed of geraniums grown from cuttings every year is a mass of colour, but my other summer bedding plant the tuberous begonias have yet to put out their first flowers. They are looking very strong. I purchased a tray of fifty mixed double non stop tuberous begonias about 15 years ago. They flower reliably every summer then get dried off, and overwintered in a box in the garage,

They never let you down.

Excellent value for money.

The Fruit Garden

A funny year for fruit. I have been too busy on other activities, painting flowers, and running art classes, so I never got around to netting my strawberries to keep the birds from eating them. I never lost a single berry, yet the local blackie took a liking to my red currant bushes so these got the strawberry net for protection. I have not needed to net red currants for the last four years. Birds left them alone, but not this year.

The net has also been erected over my saskatoon patch as they are so favoured by the birds that they will even attempt to tunnel underneath the net if it is not buried around the edges.

The saskatoons, Amelanchier alnifolia, should be ready for picking mid July probably at the same time as my red currants, black currants and gooseberries.

This year I only have Autumn Bliss raspberries as my row of Glen Ample got infected by a root rot fungus which wiped them out. I think it was phytophthora but cannot be certain.

There replacement variety Cascade Delight will not bear any fruit till next year, (hopefully)

Apple trees are quite heavy with crop, but the natural June drop did some thinning for me. I then did a little bit more to space apples out so I get larger fruit.

My variety Fiesta has adopted a biennial fruiting attitude with only five apples on a young tree that gave me over forty last year.

I will cover fruit crops in greater depth next week.

The Scottish Crops Research Institute will be holding an event for those in the fruit industry on Thursday 15^th July at Invergowrie to showcase developments and trends in their breeding and research programmes. This cutting edge technology eventually filters down to gardener level as we benefit from the release of new fruit varieties with enhanced cropping potential, better flavour, more disease resistance, stronger vigour and acclimatised to Scottish growing condition.

The Allotment

Two rows of Beetroot Bolthardy germinated very well so they required a thinning to leave them about an inch apart. These will grow into lovely baby beet size before a further thinning to four to six inches for the main crop. Last year our beetroot was left in the ground unprotected until winter digging time in January and was still excellent. The cold winter did not do any harm. We use beetroot for soups mixed with potato, onion and a wee bit of orange rind, then finished off on the plate with some yoghurt or sour cream swirled into the surface. It is brilliant and most likely very healthy.

Leeks are another vegetable that are very easy and rewarding as they keep you supplied with fresh vegetables right through the winter till March, or April in a long cold winter.

I plant mine out in rows twelve inches apart in the traditional style on good ground manured or composted in winter. Take out a shallow furrow and dibble in holes about four to six inches apart. Lift the young seedlings when about eight inches tall and top and tail them before dropping them in the dibber holes. Water them in and leave them alone.

Fresh vegetables are now being harvested for the table regularly. Lettuce. radish, spring onions and now the first courgettes and Swiss chard leaves. The former makes fantastic soup and the latter brilliant as a stir fry ingredient but dont use much oil.

The social side of allotment gardening brings people together at this time of year to swap spare vegetable plants, tomato plants, courgettes, pumpkins, leeks and other new types worthy of a trial, and when its too hot to garden there are always plenty of sunny patios to sit down and relax on.

The Cold Greenhouse

As the heatwave continues most plants that had greenhouse protection have been moved outside leaving the grapes and tomatoes and four pots of Cape gooseberries which continue to grow very strongly. At this moment I still have space for them, but if they get much bigger they will need to go out somewhere.

End